Selecting the right soil for your surface – a guarantee of satisfaction

The most important aspects to remember are: 

1. Selecting the right primer for the topcoat – we strongly advise against using cheap acrylic primers under high-quality flooring resins or two-component anti-corrosion paints. Using such primers will not ensure adequate adhesion to the substrate.
2. Selecting the right primer for the substrate – it's always worth remembering to use the right primers for the given substrate. For example, in anti-corrosion systems, a different primer should be used for black steel (it must contain anti-corrosion pigments) and another for stainless steel, where the most challenging aspect is the adhesion of the primer to the substrate.
3. Concrete floors are a completely different, yet very broad, topic . Among other things, you can encounter concrete floors:

• requiring reinforcement (compressive strength below 25 MPa and peel strength below 1.5 MPa),
• damp (humidity above 4%),
• without or with damaged waterproofing on the ground side,
• surface hardened.

Soils further by type. Three different families of foundations can be distinguished:

• solvent-based primers – characterized by relatively low viscosity, these primers can penetrate deeply into the structure of the concrete substrate, strengthening it,
• water-based primers – most often these are traditional acrylic primers for priming walls before painting, but this group also includes modern products, such as water-soluble, two-component epoxy primers for concrete or metal,
• solvent-free primers – are characterized by higher viscosity, have very good strength properties and can be used to make so-called epoxy screeds, i.e. to level the substrate after mixing with mineral aggregate.

How long does it take to paint on the ground?

Another interesting feature of priming products is the time it takes to paint topcoats. In the case of acrylic primers , which are most often used for priming walls inside houses and apartments, this time is the same for most products and is 1-2 hours depending on temperature and humidity.

The situation is completely different when it comes to anti-corrosion primers and concrete flooring systems . Epoxy resins dominate both, and their recoating time is usually 24 hours . There are also quick-drying primers for both anti-corrosion coatings and flooring systems.

Building land – which one to choose?

Below are some example problems and their solutions using the appropriate primer:

Problem: 

A terrace that's several years old and sits on the ground. After rainfall, damp patches are visible on the concrete surface, despite the terrace being roofed. The owner opted for a resin-based finishing system.

Solution:

There's likely a problem with capillary moisture rising. This problem is exacerbated after rainfall, when groundwater levels rise. In this case, Neopox Primer AY . It's a solvent-free epoxy primer resistant to negative water pressure. The product seals off groundwater while also protecting the topcoat resin layers from detaching from the substrate.

Problem: 

A new resin floor needs to be installed in the production hall. Unfortunately, the production process requires very frequent cleaning. Due to constant floor cleaning, the concrete moisture content cannot be brought to the required 4%. At the same time, the production plant has only 10 days of downtime for floor renovation. 

Solution: 

Since it's impossible to bring the floor's moisture content down to 4%, Neopox Primer WS . This is a solvent-free primer for damp substrates that accepts moisture in the substrate below 100% – in other words, any standing water/puddles should be removed from the floor before application.

Problem: 

New circulation routes need to be established in the production hall. The floor is made of surface-hardened concrete. For health and safety reasons, grinding/shot-blasting the concrete to improve the adhesion of surface resins is not permitted in the hall. 

Solution: 

To ensure adhesion of the topcoats, two steps can be taken. One is time-consuming and expensive shot-blasting of the concrete to remove the hardened layer. In this case, this is impossible. The second way to ensure adhesion is to use a specialized epoxy primer for non-absorbent substrates, SuperSpoiwo RO3333 . This is a two-component primer designed for non-absorbent substrates such as epoxy resins, surface-hardened concrete, or tiles. After applying the primer (and waiting the required time), you can begin applying the topcoats.

Problem: 

During the inspection of the flat, leaking roofing felt, it turns out that some of the chimneys and roofs have been smeared with bitumen mastic.

Solution: 

Bituminous mastic is quite difficult to coat with other materials due to its high oil-based content. In this case, before applying roofing membranes, the surface should be primed with a dedicated epoxy primer, Neopox Primer BM . This primer ensures excellent adhesion of liquid roofing membranes (e.g., Neoproof Polyurea ) to bitumen-based insulation.

As you can see, selecting the right primer for your specific situation is crucial. This reduces the risk of failure during construction, saving money, and guaranteeing investor satisfaction. Explore our primer offerings. If you have any questions, we're happy to answer them!

+48 717 026 345  biuro@trokentech.pl